The nanny went with the Samsons to their native Philippines last December to visit family. Maribel stayed behind to see her own relatives while the couple flew back to England.

Ch Insp Eric de Venancio revealed Samson’s brother-in-law Elcielo Valdez has been charged with murder. He now wants to urgently speak with the couple who have both been suspended by their employer, Warrington hospital, while the killing is probed.

According to the Filipino officer Valdez collected Maribel from a bus terminal to fetch the papers Mr Samson had asked for.

Warrington hospital said they had temporarily asked Mr Samson to stand down and not come in to work while the investigation was ongoing.

Detectives in Cheshire have been informed about the inquiry and are liaising with their Asian counterparts to locate him.

We spoke to Mr and Mrs Samson for around five minutes on the doorstep of their semi-detached townhouse. He admitted: "We are really stressed.

"The thing is, me and Maribel, as employer and employee we don’t have any arguments. I never hit her. I never did anything bad at all. It happened in the Philippines. I really had no idea."

A Facebook page has been set up called Justice for Maribel Alpas, which railed: “We hope to get to the bottom of all of this! Perpetrators will be brought to justice!"

One posting, calling for financial support for the 31-year-old’s family said: “As we all know that Maribel Alpas’ family is poverty-stricken and she is the ONLY breadwinner for them.

“She would rather send her whole paycheck to make sure the family back home can sustain their daily needs.

"She endured the loneliness being away from her family and followed her employer in the United Kingdom hoping for the possible opportunity. Now that she is taken away from them, they need our support finding justice for her death and we need your financial assistance to keep going.

Campaign: A Facebook group is raising funds for Maribel's poverty-stricken family (Photo: Trinity Mirror/LIverpool Echo)

Reports in the Philippines said Maribel was identified from a passport and documents found near her body while officers who searched the Samsons' home there found as-yet-unidentified ashes and bones in the located in the ‘back yard of the compound.’

Mrs Samson, 40, speaking from Warrington, said: "Maribel was very, very close to us. She was a lovely person. She was a kind person.

"I was here back in England. She was in the Philippines.

"We were really, really surprised by what happened, and angry as well. She was close to us. Ask our neighbours, ask whoever knew her. She loved us, and we were the same to her. She was absolutely spoilt.

"We treated her like a member of the family. As a family, being Filipinos.

"She could just ask for everything. I gave to her food, clothing, like personal things, lotions.”

Mrs Samson, a staff nurse, has also been asked not to report for duty at the hospital.

Maribel Alpas’s sister, Jocebel, who has led the Facebook justice campaign, said: “I will and we will never give this up forever. Justice will serve in due time. I have a strong faith.”

Police chief Eric de Venancio said: “We have charged Elcielo with murder in his absence. He is still at large.

“We have not been able to contact Mr Samson. I am asking him to get in touch with me so I can ask him further questions.”

A spokesman for Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We are currently seeking information from the authorities about the case.”